Anterior facial vein
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| Vein: Anterior facial vein | ||
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| Veins of the head and neck. (Anterior facial labeled at right center, at cheek, to right of masseter.) | ||
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| Dissection, showing salivary glands of right side. (Anterior facial vein labeled at bottom right.) | ||
| Latin | vena facialis anterior | |
| Gray's | subject #167 645 | |
| Dorlands/Elsevier | v_05/12850336 | |
The anterior facial vein (facial vein) commences at the side of the root of the nose, and is a direct continuation of the angular vein. It lies behind the facial artery and follows a less tortuous course. It usually either joins the anterior branch of the retromandibular vein to form the common facial vein, or drains directly into the internal jugular vein.
[edit] Path
From its origin it runs obliquely downward and backward, beneath the Zygomaticus and zygomatic head of the Quadratus labii superioris, descends along the anterior border and then on the superficial surface of the Masseter, crosses over the body of the mandible, and passes obliquely backward, beneath the Platysma and cervical fascia, superficial to the submaxillary gland, the Digastricus and Stylohyoideus.
The facial vein has no valves, and its walls are not so flaccid as most superficial veins.
This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant.
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